


a little pick-me-up

by miss_liding



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: "honey these assholes ship themselves i am only a vessel", 8D 8D 8D, M/M, bridal carry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-08
Updated: 2015-12-08
Packaged: 2018-05-05 15:39:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5380697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/miss_liding/pseuds/miss_liding
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Akashi is injured during practice. Mayuzumi (very, very reluctantly) escorts him to the nurse's office, but nothing ever goes smoothly for him when Akashi's involved.</p>
            </blockquote>





	a little pick-me-up

One afternoon practice, Mayuzumi is on the sidelines refreshing himself with some water, but he's not paying any particular attention to the mini-games. Consequently, he hears rather than sees the accident. 

There is a yell, several thuds, and a pained hiss. Mayuzumi, along with everyone else in the gym, turns automatically, and after a moment of shocked silence murmurs begin to fill the gym.

The seemingly invincible Akashi Seijuurou is awkwardly sprawled on the ground, face two shades paler under his flush of exertion. Two hundred pounds of first-string basketball player rolls off Akashi's leg onto all fours and starts apologizing profusely, three shades paler than Akashi, but not because of any injury on his part.

"Sei-chan!" Mibuchi gasps, his voice carrying across the gym. "Are you okay?" He moves as if to rush to his beloved captain's side.

Shirogane, already at Akashi's side,  flicks his hand at Mibuchi. "Get back to your game. Akashi, can you stand?"

Somehow Akashi manages to get to his feet without assistance. There is none of his usual grace about it; he looks a hair away from staggering. "I believe it is only a minor sprain."

Shirogane casts his gaze around the hall, and it lands on Mayuzumi just as he is about to sit down. "Mayuzumi, help Akashi get to the nurse's office. The rest of you, stop gawking and keep playing."

Mayuzumi barely manages to hide a moue of annoyance as he strides over to Akashi and the coach. He'd much rather take Mibuchi's place in the mini-game and let the other player assist Akashi instead.  Mibuchi wouldn't mind it either, judging by the worried glances that he keeps sending Akashi's way.

He hesitantly curls his arm around Akashi's waist as Akashi puts his arm around Mayuzumi's shoulders, and the two slowly begin making their way out of the gym.

"Thank you for your assistance, Chihiro," Akashi says as they enter the main building.

Mayuzumi just grunts. "Whatever. Coach asked me to, even though Mibuchi was falling over himself to help you." The one time his lack of presence didn't work, and it was for this.

"I am glad it was you he asked."

"Save it for someone who cares," Mayuzumi says reflexively. Then the words register in his head. It takes all the willpower he has not to freeze on the spot; with Akashi this close to him, there's no way this particular bane of his existence would fail to notice. A sense of foreboding has started to slowly creep up his spine and despite himself, he glances down at his shoulder to make sure Akashi's arm hasn't turned into a venomous snake or something. 

The nurse's office might be on the second floor but at least Rakuzan has a lift, with sturdy handholds and lots of room. He can get his personal space back there, at least for a moment.

 

~~~~~

 

Or not. Mayuzumi stares, aghast, at the _OUT OF ORDER_ sign on the lift. This is the most betrayed he has ever felt in his short, painful lifetime, barring that one incident where his roommate let his mom into his room before he'd been able to shove everything incriminating (read: his entire room) into his closet.

He tries jabbing the button anyway but the lift remains unresponsive. "Looks like we'll have to use the stairs," Mayuzumi says slowly, feeling his heart metaphorically crumpling to the ground.

Akashi eyes the stairs contemplatively. "This is very unfortunate timing," he says, and moves forward.

Mayuzumi feels Akashi's grip tighten on his shoulder and the shift of weight through his hip. "Wait a second," Mayuzumi says, ignoring the solid presence of Akashi's body, flush against his side. "You want to hop all the way up those stairs?"

"I am a fit basketball player. This will not be the most physically demanding exercise I have done by far," says Akashi. "If you have any other suggestions besides waiting for the lift to be fixed, then do enlighten me."

"You're the most disrespectful kouhai I've ever met, did you know that?" Mayuzumi says. Akashi has a strong grip, and his shoulder is already starting to ache. He is seriously considering stranding Akashi in the hallway when a thought occurs to him.

In one smooth motion, he wraps one arm around Akashi's midsection, the other behind Akashi's knees, and lifts the other off his feet.

The stunned-mullet look that passes across Akashi's face for one precious second is worth the ache he can already feel burning through his arms. He almost wishes that someone else were here to record the moment, but at least this way he gets Akashi's shocked expression all to himself.

Which is quickly replaced with a pointed glare. "Put me down," demands Akashi, all edge.

Mayuzumi adjusts his grip on Akashi. He's lean and bony but still rather heavy. "No can do, captain. Just doing my duty," he says, and starts up the stairs.

Surprisingly, Akashi doesn't complain further. Instead, he drapes his arm around Mayuzumi's neck and sits up a little, breath tickling Mayuzumi's cheek.

"I see you've been picking up some interesting ideas from those light novels of yours," Akashi says, as Mayuzumi stops on the landing.

"Light novel characters aren't nearly as mouthy as you," Mayuzumi says, straining. "You want me to drop you down the stairs?" He pauses for breath before the next set of steps.

"I would quite prefer it if you didn't, Chihiro," says Akashi. Out of the corner of his eye, Mayuzumi can see Akashi half-smiling at him. In a typical fit of obstinacy, he resolutely stares at the steps instead of Akashi and continues to suffer onwards and upwards.

"Clumsy people who injure themselves don't get a say in this," Mayuzumi says, even though he knows it probably was entirely the other player's fault. He briefly wonders if anyone else has ever described Akashi as clumsy to his face, and then lived.

There are a few others in the corridor, but the ones that are not absorbed in conversation at least have the sense and self-preservation not to stare for too long. Besides, Mayuzumi's not sure if any level of misdirection could cause people to overlook Rakuzan's resident wunderkind.

Thankfully the nurse's door is already open, saving Mayuzumi from working out the logistics of opening a door with Akashi-laden arms, but the nurse seems to have left briefly, leaving them alone in the quiet of the infirmary.

Mayuzumi makes for the closest bed, Akashi's hand slipping down Mayuzumi's arm as he deposits Akashi more gently than he intended to.

"There," he says, a little out of breath and trying not to pant. "I hope you're satisfied with your service, young master." He means to sneer a little but it is swallowed up by his efforts to breathe evenly.

Akashi smiles again, tipping his head back to meet Mayuzumi's eyes as Mayuzumi arches over him. This time Mayuzumi can't look away, his gaze drawn to the fine lines of Akashi's face. "I am, thank you," Akashi says, strangely soft.

It looks like Akashi is about to say more, but Mayuzumi feels a strange urge to flee. "That's… great," says Mayuzumi, snapping up straight. "See you, bye-bye." He turns quickly on his heel, leaves the room and is halfway to the rooftop before he realises that he's in his basketball uniform and is supposed to be at practice.

Well, it's not like Akashi's around to tattle on him. He doesn't want to go back to the gym anyway, where Mibuchi will finally deign to acknowledge his existence by asking after Akashi, where Coach will want to know Akashi's status, where the only word on everyone's lips will be Akashi, Akashi, _Akashi—_

When Mayuzumi reaches the roof he gravitates towards the edge, leans over the railing so far he's a breath away from falling. The wind hurls itself at him but he ignores it, staring at the pink-orange-red of the sunset and resolutely, determinedly, thinking of no-one- nothing- else.

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> what is editing,, can you eat it. Also +10 points if you spotted the pun Akashi made.
> 
> Comments & kudos are always appreciated!


End file.
